Single layer touch-sensitive display

ABSTRACT

A touch sensor panel having co-planar single-layer touch sensors fabricated on a single side of a substrate is disclosed. The drive and sense lines can be fabricated as column-like patterns in a first orientation and patches in a second orientation, where each column-like pattern in the first orientation is connected to a separate metal trace in the border area of the touch sensor panel, and all patches in each of multiple rows in the second orientation are connected together using a separate metal trace in the border area of the touch sensor panel. The metal traces in the border areas can be formed on the same side of the substrate as the patches and columns, but separated from the patches and column-like patterns by a dielectric layer.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This relates generally to input devices for computing systems, and moreparticularly, to a mutual-capacitance multi-touch sensor panel capableof being fabricated on a single side of a substrate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many types of input devices are presently available for performingoperations in a computing system, such as buttons or keys, mice,trackballs, touch sensor panels, joysticks, touch screens and the like.Touch screens, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular becauseof their ease and versatility of operation as well as their decliningprice. Touch screens can include a touch sensor panel, which can be aclear panel with a touch-sensitive surface. The touch sensor panel canbe positioned in front of a display screen so that the touch-sensitivesurface covers the viewable area of the display screen. Touch screenscan allow a user to make selections and move a cursor by simply touchingthe display screen via a finger or stylus. In general, the touch screencan recognize the touch and position of the touch on the display screen,and the computing system can interpret the touch and thereafter performan action based on the touch event.

Touch sensor panels can be implemented as an array of pixels formed bymultiple drive lines (e.g. rows) crossing over multiple sense lines(e.g. columns), where the drive and sense lines are separated by adielectric material. An example of such a touch sensor panel isdescribed in Applicant's co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/650,049entitled “Double-Sided Touch Sensitive Panel and Flex Circuit Bonding,”filed on Jan. 3, 2007, the contents of which are incorporated byreference herein. However, touch sensor panels having drive and senselines formed on the bottom and top sides of a single substrate can beexpensive to manufacture. One reason for this additional expense is thatthin-film processing steps must be performed on both sides of the glasssubstrate, which requires protective measures for the processed sidewhile the other side is being processed. Another reason is the cost ofthe flex circuit fabrication and bonding needed to connect to both sidesof the substrate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This relates to a substantially transparent touch sensor panel havingco-planar single-layer touch sensors fabricated on a single side of asubstrate for detecting single or multi-touch events (the touching ofone or multiple fingers or other objects upon a touch-sensitive surfaceat distinct locations at about the same time). To avoid having tofabricate substantially transparent drive and sense lines on oppositesides of the same substrate, embodiments of the invention can form thedrive and sense lines on a co-planar single layer on the same side ofthe substrate. The drive and sense lines can be fabricated ascolumn-like patterns in a first orientation and patches in a secondorientation, where each column-like pattern in the first orientation isconnected to a separate metal trace in the border area of the touchsensor panel, and all patches in each of multiple rows in the secondorientation are connected together using a separate metal trace (orother conductive material) in the border area of the touch sensor panel.The metal traces in the border areas can be formed on the same side ofthe substrate as the patches and columns, but separated from the patchesand column-like patterns by a dielectric layer. The metal traces canallow both the patches and column-like patterns to be routed to the sameshort edge of the substrate so that a small flex circuit can be bondedto a small area on only one side of the substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1a illustrates a partial view of an exemplary substantiallytransparent touch sensor panel having co-planar single-layer touchsensors fabricated on a single side of a substrate according to oneembodiment of this invention.

FIG. 1b illustrates a partial view of an exemplary substantiallytransparent touch sensor panel including metal traces running in theborder areas of the touch sensor panel according to one embodiment ofthis invention.

FIG. 1c illustrates an exemplary connection of columns and row patchesto the metal traces in the border area of the touch sensor panelaccording to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2a illustrates an exemplary cross-section of touch sensor panelshowing SITO traces and metal traces connected though a via in adielectric material according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2b is a close-up view of the exemplary cross-section shown in FIG.2a according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of an exemplary column and adjacent rowpatches according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 4a is a plot of an x-coordinate of a finger touch versus mutualcapacitance seen at a pixel for a two adjacent pixels a-5 and b-5 in asingle row having wide spacings.

FIG. 4b is a plot of an x-coordinate of a finger touch versus mutualcapacitance seen at a pixel for a two adjacent pixels a-5 and b-5 in asingle row having wide spacings where spatial interpolation has beenprovided according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 4c illustrates a top view of an exemplary column and adjacent rowpatch pattern useful for larger pixel spacings according to oneembodiment of this invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary stackup of SITO on a touch sensor panelsubstrate bonded to a cover glass according to one embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary computing system operable with a touchsensor panel according to one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 7a illustrates an exemplary mobile telephone that can include atouch sensor panel and computing system according to one embodiment ofthis invention.

FIG. 7b illustrates an exemplary digital audio/video player that caninclude a touch sensor panel and computing system according to oneembodiment of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In the following description of preferred embodiments, reference is madeto the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which itis shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which theinvention can be practiced. It is to be understood that otherembodiments can be used and structural changes can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the embodiments of this invention.

This relates to a substantially transparent touch sensor panel havingco-planar single-layer touch sensors fabricated on a single side of asubstrate for detecting single or multi-touch events (the touching ofone or multiple fingers or other objects upon a touch-sensitive surfaceat distinct locations at about the same time). To avoid having tofabricate substantially transparent drive and sense lines on oppositesides of the same substrate, embodiments of the invention can form thedrive and sense lines on a co-planar single layer on the same side ofthe substrate. The drive and sense lines can be fabricated ascolumn-like patterns in a first orientation and patches in a secondorientation, where each column-like pattern in the first orientation isconnected to a separate metal trace in the border area of the touchsensor panel, and all patches in each of multiple rows in the secondorientation are connected together using a separate metal trace (orother conductive material) in the border area of the touch sensor panel.The metal traces in the border areas can be formed on the same side ofthe substrate as the patches and columns, but separated from the patchesand column-like patterns by a dielectric layer. The metal traces canallow both the patches and column-like patterns to be routed to the sameshort edge of the substrate so that a small flex circuit can be bondedto a small area on only one side of the substrate.

Although some embodiments of this invention may be described herein interms of mutual capacitance multi-touch sensor panels, it should beunderstood that embodiments of this invention are not so limited, butare additionally applicable to self-capacitance sensor panels andsingle-touch sensor panels. Furthermore, although the touch sensors inthe sensor panel may be described herein in terms of an orthogonal arrayof touch sensors having rows and columns, embodiments of this inventionare not limited to orthogonal arrays, but can be generally applicable totouch sensors arranged in any number of dimensions and orientations,including diagonal, concentric circle, three-dimensional and randomorientations.

FIG. 1a illustrates a partial view of exemplary substantiallytransparent touch sensor panel 100 having co-planar single-layer touchsensors fabricated on a single side of a substrate according toembodiments of the invention. In the example of FIG. 1a , touch sensorpanel 100 having eight columns (labeled a through h) and six rows(labeled 1 through 6) is shown, although it should be understood thatany number of columns and rows can be employed. Columns a through h cangenerally be columnar in shape, although in the example of FIG. 1a , oneside of each column includes staggered edges and notches designed tocreate separate sections in each column. Each of rows 1 through 6 can beformed from a plurality of distinct patches or pads, each patchincluding a trace of the same material as the patch and routed to theborder area of touch sensor panel 100 for enabling all patches in aparticular row to be connected together through metal traces (not shownin FIG. 1a ) running in the border areas. These metal traces can berouted to a small area on one side of touch sensor panel 100 andconnected to a flex circuit 102. As shown in the example of FIG. 1a ,the patches forming the rows can be arranged in a generallypyramid-shaped configuration. In FIG. 1a , for example, the patches forrows 1-3 between columns a and b are arranged in an inverted pyramidconfiguration, while the patches for rows 4-6 between columns a and bare arranged in an upright pyramid configuration.

The columns and patches of FIG. 1a can be formed in a co-planar singlelayer of conductive material. In touch screen embodiments, theconductive material can be a substantially transparent material such asSingle-layer Indium Tin Oxide (SITO), although other materials can alsobe used. The SITO layer can be formed either on the back of a coverglassor on the top of a separate substrate. Although SITO may be referred toherein for purposes of simplifying the disclosure, it should beunderstood that other conductive materials can also be used according toembodiments of the invention.

FIG. 1b illustrates a partial view of exemplary substantiallytransparent touch sensor panel 100 including metal traces 104 and 106running in the border areas of the touch sensor panel according toembodiments of the invention. Note that the border areas in FIG. 1b areenlarged for clarity. Each column a-h can include SITO trace 108 thatallows the column to be connected to a metal trace through a via (notshown in FIG. 1b ). One side of each column includes staggered edges 114and notches 116 designed to create separate sections in each column.Each row patch 1-6 can include SITO trace 110 that allows the patch tobe connected to a metal trace through a via (not shown in FIG. 1b ).SITO traces 110 can allow each patch in a particular row to beself-connected to each other. Because all metal traces 104 and 106 areformed on the same layer, they can all be routed to the same flexcircuit 102.

If touch sensor panel 100 is operated as a mutual capacitance touchsensor panel, either the columns a-h or the rows 1-6 can be driven withone or more stimulation signals, and fringing electric field lines canform between adjacent column areas and row patches. In FIG. 1b , itshould be understood that although only electric field lines 112 betweencolumn a and row patch 1 (a-1) are shown for purposes of illustration,electric field lines can be formed between other adjacent column and rowpatches (e.g. a-2, b-4, g-5, etc.) depending on what columns or rows arebeing stimulated. Thus, it should be understood that each column-rowpatch pair (e.g. a-1, a-2, b-4, g-5, etc.) can represent a two-electrodepixel or sensor at which charge can be coupled onto the sense electrodefrom the drive electrode. When a finger touches down over one of thesepixels, some of the fringing electric field lines that extend beyond thecover of the touch sensor panel are blocked by the finger, reducing theamount of charge coupled onto the sense electrode. This reduction in theamount of coupled charge can be detected as part of determining aresultant “image” of touch. It should be noted that in mutualcapacitance touch sensor panel designs as shown in FIG. 1b , no separatereference ground is needed, so no second layer on the back side of thesubstrate, or on a separate substrate, is needed.

Touch sensor panel 100 can also be operated as a self-capacitance touchsensor panel. In such an embodiment, a reference ground plane can beformed on the back side of the substrate, on the same side as thepatches and columns but separated from the patches and columns by adielectric, or on a separate substrate. In a self-capacitance touchsensor panel, each pixel or sensor has a self-capacitance to thereference ground that can be changed due to the presence of a finger. Inself-capacitance embodiments, the self-capacitance of columns a-h can besensed independently, and the self-capacitance of rows 1-6 can also besensed independently.

FIG. 1c illustrates an exemplary connection of columns and row patchesto the metal traces in the border area of the touch sensor panelaccording to embodiments of the invention. FIG. 1c represents “Detail A”as shown in FIG. 1b , and shows column “a” and row patches 4-6 connectedto metal traces 118 through SITO traces 108 and 110. Because SITO traces108 and 110 are separated from metal traces 118 by a dielectricmaterial, vias 120 formed in the dielectric material allow the SITOtraces to connect to the metal traces.

FIG. 2a illustrates an exemplary cross-section of touch sensor panel 200showing SITO trace 208 and metal traces 218 connected though via 220 indielectric material 222 according to embodiments of the invention. FIG.2a represents view B-B as shown in FIG. 1 c.

FIG. 2b is a close-up view of the exemplary cross-section shown in FIG.2a according to embodiments of the invention. FIG. 2b shows oneexemplary embodiment wherein SITO trace 208 has a resistivity of about155 ohms per square max. In one embodiment, dielectric 222 can be about1500 angstroms of inorganic SiO₂, which can be processed at a highertemperature and therefore allows the SITO layer to be sputtered withhigher quality. In another embodiment, dielectric 222 can be about 3.0microns of organic polymer. The 1500 angstroms of inorganic SiO₂ can beused for touch sensor panels small enough such that the crossovercapacitance (between SITO trace 208 and metal traces 218) is not anissue.

For larger touch sensor panels (having a diagonal dimension of about3.5″ or greater), crossover capacitance can be an issue, creating anerror signal that can only partially be compensated. Thus, for largertouch sensor panels, a thicker dielectric layer 222 with a lowerdielectric constant such as about 3.0 microns of organic polymer can beused to lower the crossover capacitance. However, use of a thickerdielectric layer can force the SITO layer to be sputtered at a lowertemperature, resulting in lower optical quality and higher resistivity.

Referring again to the example of FIG. 1c , column edges 114 and rowpatches 4-6 can be staggered in the x-dimension because space must bemade for SITO traces 110 connecting row patches 4 and 5. (It should beunderstood that row patch 4 in the example of FIG. 1c is really twopatches stuck together.) To gain optimal touch sensitivity, it can bedesirable to balance the area of the electrodes in pixels a-6, a-5 anda-4. However, if column “a” was kept linear, row patch 6 can be slimmerthan row patch 5 or 6, and an imbalance would be created between theelectrodes of pixel a-6.

FIG. 3 illustrates a top view of an exemplary column and adjacent rowpatches according to embodiments of the invention. It can be generallydesirable to make the mutual capacitance characteristics of pixels a-4,a-5 and a-6 relatively constant to produce a relatively uniformz-direction touch sensitivity that stays within the range of touchsensing circuitry. Accordingly, the column areas a₄, a₅ and a₆ should beabout the same as row patch areas 4, 5 and 6. To accomplish this, columnsection a₄ and a₅, and row patch 4 and 5 can be shrunk in they-direction as compared to column section a6 and row patch 6 so that thearea of column segment a₄ matches the area of column segments a₅ and a₆.In other words, pixel a₄-4 will be wider but shorter than pixel a₆-6,which will be narrower but taller.

It should be evident from the previously mentioned figures that rawspatial sensitivity can be somewhat distorted. In other words, becausethe pixels or sensors can be slightly skewed or misaligned in thex-direction, the x-coordinate of a maximized touch event on pixel a-6(e.g. a finger placed down directly over pixel a-6) can be slightlydifferent from the x-coordinate of a maximized touch event on pixel a-4,for example. Accordingly, in embodiments of the invention thismisalignment can be de-warped in a software algorithm to re-map thepixels and remove the distortion.

Although a typical touch panel grid dimension can have pixels arrangedon 5.0 mm centers, a more spread-out grid having about 6.0 mm centers,for example, can be desirable to reduce the overall number of electricalconnections in the touch sensor panel. However, spreading out the sensorpattern can cause erroneous touch readings.

FIG. 4a is a plot of an x-coordinate of a finger touch versus mutualcapacitance seen at a pixel for a two adjacent pixels a-5 and b-5 in asingle row having wide spacings. In FIG. 4a , plot 400 represents themutual capacitance seen at pixel a-5 as the finger touch movescontinuously from left to right, and plot 402 represents the mutualcapacitance seen at pixel b-5 as the finger touch moves continuouslyfrom left to right. As expected, a drop in the mutual capacitance 404 isseen at pixel a-5 when the finger touch passes directly over pixel a-5,and a similar drop in the mutual capacitance 406 is seen at pixel b-5when the finger touch passes directly over pixel b-5. If line 408represents a threshold for detecting a touch event, FIG. 4a illustratesthat even though the finger is never lifted from the surface of thetouch sensor panel, it can erroneously appear at 410 that the finger hasmomentarily lifted off the surface. This location 410 can represent apoint about halfway between the two spread-out pixels.

FIG. 4b is a plot of an x-coordinate of a finger touch versus mutualcapacitance seen at a pixel for a two adjacent pixels a-5 and b-5 in asingle row having wide spacings where spatial interpolation has beenprovided according to embodiments of the invention. As expected, a dropin the mutual capacitance 404 is seen at pixel a-5 when the finger touchpasses directly over pixel a-5, and a similar drop in the mutualcapacitance 406 is seen at pixel b-5 when the finger touch passesdirectly over pixel b-5. Note, however, that the rise and fall in themutual capacitance value occurs more gradually than in FIG. 4a . If line408 represents a threshold for detecting a touch event, FIG. 4billustrates that as the finger moves from left to right over pixel a-5and b-5, a touch event is always detected at either pixel a-5 or b-5. Inother words, this “blurring” of touch events is helpful to prevent theappearance of false no-touch readings.

In one embodiment of the invention, the thickness of the coverglass forthe touch sensor panel can be increased to create part or all of thespatial blurring or filtering shown in FIG. 4 b.

FIG. 4c illustrates a top view of an exemplary column and adjacent rowpatch pattern useful for larger pixel spacings according to embodimentsof the invention. FIG. 4c illustrates an exemplary embodiment in whichsawtooth electrode edges 412 are employed within a pixel elongated inthe x-direction. The sawtooth electrode edges can allow fringingelectric field lines 414 to be present over a larger area in thex-direction so that a touch event can be detected by the same pixel overa larger distance in the x-direction. It should be understood that thesawtooth configuration of FIG. 4c is only exemplary, and that otherconfigurations such serpentine edges and the like can also be used.These configurations can further soften the touch patterns and createadditional spatial filtering and interpolation between adjacent pixelsas shown in FIG. 4 b.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary stackup of SITO on a touch sensor panelsubstrate bonded to a cover glass according to embodiments of theinvention. The stackup can include touch sensor panel substrate 500,which can be formed from glass, upon which anti-reflective (AR) film 510can be formed on one side and metal 502 can be deposited and patternedon the other side to form the bus lines in the border areas. Metal 502can have a resistivity of 0.8 ohms per square maximum. Insulating layer504 can then be deposited over substrate 500 and metal 502. Insulatinglayer can be, for example, SiO₂ with a thickness of 1500 angstroms, or 3microns of organic polymer. Photolithography can be used to form vias506 in insulator 504, and conductive material 508 can then deposited andpatterned on top of the insulator and metal 502. The single layer ofconductive material 508, which can be formed from transparent conductivematerial such as ITO having a resistivity of 155 ohms per squaremaximum, can be more transparent than multi-layer designs, and can beeasier to manufacture. Flex circuit 512 can be bonded to conductivematerial 508 and metal 502 using adhesive 514 such as anisotropicconductive film (ACF). The entire subassembly can then be bonded tocover glass 516 and blackmask 520 using adhesive 518 such as pressuresensitive adhesive (PSA).

In an alternative embodiment, the metal, insulator, conductive materialas described above can be formed directly on the back side of the coverglass.

FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary computing system 600 operable with thetouch sensor panel described above according to embodiments of thisinvention. Touchscreen 642, which can include touch sensor panel 624 anddisplay device 640 (e.g. an LCD module), can be connected to othercomponents in computing system 600 through connectors integrally formedon the sensor panel, or using flex circuits. Computing system 600 caninclude one or more panel processors 602 and peripherals 604, and panelsubsystem 606. The one or more processors 602 can include, for example,ARM968 processors or other processors with similar functionality andcapabilities. However, in other embodiments, the panel processorfunctionality can be implemented instead by dedicated logic such as astate machine. Peripherals 604 can include, but are not limited to,random access memory (RAM) or other types of memory or storage, watchdogtimers and the like.

Panel subsystem 606 can include, but is not limited to, one or moreanalog channels 608, channel scan logic 610 and driver logic 614.Channel scan logic 610 can access RAM 612, autonomously read data fromthe analog channels and provide control for the analog channels. Thiscontrol can include multiplexing or otherwise connecting the sense linesof touch sensor panel 624 to analog channels 608. In addition, channelscan logic 610 can control the driver logic and stimulation signalsbeing selectively applied to the drive lines of touch sensor panel 624.In some embodiments, panel subsystem 606, panel processor 602 andperipherals 604 can be integrated into a single application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC).

Driver logic 614 can provide multiple panel subsystem outputs 616 andcan present a proprietary interface that drives high voltage driver 618.High voltage driver 618 can provide level shifting from a low voltagelevel (e.g. complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) levels) to ahigher voltage level, providing a better signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio fornoise reduction purposes. Panel subsystem outputs 616 can be sent todecoder 620 and level shifter/driver 638, which can selectively connectone or more high voltage driver outputs to one or more panel row ordrive line inputs 622 through a proprietary interface and enable the useof fewer high voltage driver circuits in the high voltage driver 618.Each panel row input 622 can drive one or more drive lines in touchsensor panel 624. In some embodiments, high voltage driver 618 anddecoder 620 can be integrated into a single ASIC. However, in otherembodiments high voltage driver 618 and decoder 620 can be integratedinto driver logic 614, and in still other embodiments high voltagedriver 618 and decoder 620 can be eliminated entirely.

Computing system 600 can also include host processor 628 for receivingoutputs from panel processor 602 and performing actions based on theoutputs that can include, but are not limited to, moving an object suchas a cursor or pointer, scrolling or panning, adjusting controlsettings, opening a file or document, viewing a menu, making aselection, executing instructions, operating a peripheral deviceconnected to the host device, answering a telephone call, placing atelephone call, terminating a telephone call, changing the volume oraudio settings, storing information related to telephone communicationssuch as addresses, frequently dialed numbers, received calls, missedcalls, logging onto a computer or a computer network, permittingauthorized individuals access to restricted areas of the computer orcomputer network, loading a user profile associated with a user'spreferred arrangement of the computer desktop, permitting access to webcontent, launching a particular program, encrypting or decoding amessage, and/or the like. Host processor 628 can also perform additionalfunctions that may not be related to panel processing, and can becoupled to program storage 632 and display device 640 such as an LCD forproviding a user interface (UI) to a user of the device.

The touch sensor panel described above can be advantageously used in thesystem of FIG. 6 to provide a space-efficient touch sensor panel and UIthat is lower cost, more manufacturable, and fits into existingmechanical control outlines (the same physical envelope).

FIG. 7a illustrates exemplary mobile telephone 736 that can includetouch sensor panel 724 and display device 730 stackups (optionallybonded together using PSA 734) and computing system described aboveaccording to embodiments of the invention. FIG. 7b illustrates exemplarydigital audio/video player 740 that can include touch sensor panel 724and display device 730 stackups (optionally bonded together using PSA734) and computing system described above according to embodiments ofthe invention. The mobile telephone and digital audio/video player ofFIGS. 7a and 7b can advantageously benefit from the touch sensor paneldescribed above because the touch sensor panel can enable these devicesto be smaller and less expensive, which are important consumer factorsthat can have a significant effect on consumer desirability andcommercial success.

Although embodiments of this invention have been fully described withreference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that variouschanges and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in theart. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as beingincluded within the scope of embodiments of this invention as defined bythe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A touch sensor panel, comprising: a plurality ofseparated patterns of conductive material disposed along a firstdirection and formed on a single layer and supported on one side of asubstrate; and a plurality of distinct patches of the conductivematerial supported on the same side of the substrate as the plurality ofpatterns of conductive material, the plurality of distinct patchesformed on the same layer as the plurality of patterns of conductivematerial and arranged in groups of the distinct patches, each groupdisposed along a second direction, each distinct patch in a particulargroup connected together; wherein the plurality of distinct patches ofconductive material together with sections of the patterns of conductivematerial adjacent to the plurality of distinct patches form asubstantially co-planar, single layer array of multi-touch mutualcapacitance sensors, the array of multi-touch mutual capacitance sensorcapable of detecting one or more contact events at distinct locations onthe touch sensor panel at about the same time to thereby providedetection of multi-touch events; and wherein the plurality of patternsof conductive material or the groups of distinct patches of theconductive material serve as drive lines to the exclusion of senselines, for providing one or more stimulation signals and the other ofthe plurality of patterns of conductive material or the groups ofdistinct patches of the conductive material serve as the sense lines tothe exclusion of the drive lines for the array of multi-touch mutualcapacitance sensors.
 2. A touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein eachmutual capacitance sensor of the array of mutual capacitance sensors isresponsive to a fringing electric field between a section of one of theplurality of distinct patches and an adjacent, non-overlapping,co-planar section of one of the plurality of patterns of conductivematerial; and wherein: in operation, the drive lines are driven with theone or more stimulation signals to establish the fringing electric fieldfor coupling charge onto the sense lines.
 3. The touch sensor panel ofclaim 2, wherein the distinct patches of a particular group areconnected together via at least one of a plurality of conductor traces.4. The touch sensor panel of claim 3, wherein the plurality of conductortraces are disposed at least in a border area of the touch sensor panel,the plurality of patterns of conductive material connected to at leastone of the plurality of conductor traces.
 5. The touch sensor panel ofclaim 4, wherein the plurality of patterns of conductive material areformed with notches and staggered edges to form the sections.
 6. Thetouch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein the plurality of patterns ofconductive material are formed with notches and staggered edges to formthe sections.
 7. The touch sensor panel of claim 6, wherein the distinctpatches of a particular group are connected together via at least one ofa plurality of conductor traces, and the plurality of conductor tracesare disposed at least in a border area of the touch sensor panel, theplurality of patterns of conductive material connected to at least oneof the plurality of conductor traces.
 8. The touch sensor panel of claim7, wherein the portions of the plurality of patterns of conductivematerial and portions of the plurality of distinct patches are formedpartially over the plurality of conductor traces but separated therefromby a dielectric material.
 9. The touch sensor panel of claim 8, furthercomprising vias formed in the dielectric material for providingconnections between the portions of the plurality of patterns ofconductive material and the plurality of conductor traces and betweenthe portions of the plurality of distinct patches and the plurality ofconductor traces.
 10. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein theplurality of patterns of conductive material comprises Indium Tin Oxide(ITO).
 11. The touch sensor panel of claim 3, wherein the plurality ofconductor traces are formed from metal.
 12. The touch sensor panel ofclaim 1, wherein the substrate is a cover material for a touch sensitivedevice.
 13. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, further comprising acover material for a touch sensitive device coupled to the substrate.14. The touch sensor panel of claim 3, wherein the plurality ofconductive traces are routed to a single side of the substrate forconnecting to a flex circuit.
 15. The touch sensor panel of claim 1,wherein each of the plurality of distinct patches and adjacent sectionsof the plurality of patterns of conductive material have about the samesurface area.
 16. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, each sensor of themutual capacitance sensors is elongated in at least one of the first andsecond directions to provide spatial filtering.
 17. The touch sensorpanel of claim 1, the touch sensor panel integrated into a computingsystem.
 18. The touch sensor panel of claim 17, the computing systemintegrated into a mobile telephone or digital media player.
 19. Thetouch sensor panel of claim 3, wherein the plurality of conductor tracescomprises metal traces which are disposed on a border area of the touchsensor panel; and wherein the sections of the plurality of distinctpatches which are separate from, non-overlapping with, and adjacent tothe plurality of patterns of conductive material are connected to themetal traces by single layer transparent conductive traces disposedsubstantially along the first direction.
 20. A method for forming atouch sensor panel, comprising: forming a plurality of separatedcolumn-like patterns of conductive material disposed on a single layeron one side of a substrate; forming a plurality of distinct patches ofthe conductive material on the same side of the substrate as theplurality of column-like patterns of conductive material and disposed insubstantially the same single layer as the plurality of column-likepatterns, arranging the plurality of distinct patches in a plurality ofrows; connecting together the distinct patches in a particular row;forming a substantially co-planar, single layer array of mutualcapacitance sensors from at least sections of the plurality of distinctpatches together with sections of the plurality of column-like patternsof conductive material, the at least sections of the plurality ofdistinct patches being separate from, non-overlapping with, and adjacentto the sections of the plurality of column-like patterns of conductivematerial, the array of mutual capacitance sensor capable of detectingone or more contact events at distinct locations on the touch sensorpanel at about the same time to thereby provide substantiallysimultaneous detection of multi-touch events; and configuring drivelines, to the exclusion of sense lines, from one of the plurality ofcolumn-like patters or the plurality of distinct patches and configuringthe sense lines, to the exclusion of the drive lines, from the other ofthe plurality of column-like patters or the plurality of distinctpatches.
 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising forming thecolumn-like patterns of conductive material with notches and staggerededge.
 22. The method of claim 20, further comprising forming a pluralityof conductor traces in a border area of the substrate for providing, atleast in part, a connection to each distinct patch in a particular rowand for providing a connection to each column-like pattern of conductivematerial.
 23. The method of claim 22, further comprising forming theplurality of column-like patterns of conductive material and theplurality of distinct patches partially over the plurality of conductortraces but separated therefrom by a dielectric material.
 24. The methodof claim 23, further comprising forming vias in the dielectric materialfor providing the connections between the column-like patterns ofconductive material and the plurality of conductor traces and theplurality of distinct patches and the plurality of conductor traces. 25.The method of claim 20, wherein the conductive material is Indium TinOxide (ITO).
 26. The method of claim 22, further comprising forming theplurality of conductor traces from metal.
 27. The method of claim 20,wherein the substrate is a cover material for a touch sensitive device.28. The method of claim 20, further comprising attaching a covermaterial for a touch sensitive device to the substrate.
 29. The methodof claim 26, further comprising routing the plurality of conductortraces to a single side of the substrate for connecting to a flexcircuit.
 30. The method of claim 21, further comprising forming eachdistinct patch and adjacent sections of the column-like patterns to havesubstantially the same surface area.
 31. The method of claim 20, furthercomprising elongating each sensor to create spatial blurring.
 32. Amobile telephone including a touch sensor panel, the touch sensor panelcomprising: a plurality of separated patterns of conductive materialdisposed along a first direction, formed on a single layer and supportedon one side of a substrate; and a plurality of distinct patches of theconductive material supported on the same side of the substrate as theplurality of patterns of conductive material, the plurality of distinctpatches disposed in substantially the same single layer, and pluralgroups of the plurality of distinct patches disposed along a seconddirection, different from the first direction, the distinct patches in aparticular group connected together; wherein at least sections of theplurality of distinct patches are separate from, non-overlapping with,and adjacent to sections of the patterns of conductive material such asto form a substantially co-planar, single layer array of mutualcapacitance sensors, the array of multi-touch mutual capacitance sensorcapable of detecting one or more contact events at distinct locations onthe touch sensor panel at about the same time to thereby providedetection of multi-touch events; and wherein the plurality of patternsof conductive material or the groups of distinct patches of theconductive material serve as drive lines, to the exclusion of senselines, for providing one or more stimulation signals and the other ofthe plurality of patters of conductive material or the groups ofdistinct patches of the conductive material serve as the sense lines, tothe exclusion of the drive lines, for the array of mutual capacitancesensors.
 33. A digital media player including a touch sensor panel, thetouch sensor panel comprising: a plurality of separated patterns ofconductive material disposed along a first direction, formed on a singlelayer and supported on one side of a substrate; and a plurality ofdistinct patches of the conductive material supported on the same sideof the substrate as the plurality of patterns of conductive material,the plurality of distinct patches disposed in substantially the samesingle layer, and plural groups of the plurality of distinct patchesdisposed along a second direction, different from the first direction,the distinct patches in a particular group connected together via atleast one of a plurality of conductor traces; wherein at least sectionsof the plurality of distinct patches are separate from, non-overlappingwith, and adjacent to sections of the plurality of patterns ofconductive material such as to form a substantially co-planar, singlelayer array of mutual capacitance sensors, the array of multi-touchmutual capacitance sensor capable of detecting one or more contactevents at distinct locations on the touch sensor panel at about the sametime to thereby provide detection of multi-touch events; and wherein theplurality of patterns of conductive material or the groups of distinctpatches of the conductive material serve as drive lines, to theexclusion of sense lines, for providing one or more stimulation signalsand the other of the plurality of patters of conductive material or thegroups of distinct patches of the conductive material serve as the senselines, to the exclusion of the drive lines, for the array of mutualcapacitance sensors.
 34. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, wherein theplurality of distinct patches and the plurality of patterns ofconductive material are disposed in a non-interleaved relationship withrespect to one another.
 35. The touch sensor panel of claim 1, whereineach of the plurality of patterns of conductive material extends acrosssubstantially the entirety of the touch sensor panel along the firstdirection without interleaving with any of the plurality of distinctpatches such that a gap is disposed substantially along the firstdirection separating each of the plurality of patterns of conductivematerial from the plurality of distinct patches.
 36. The touch sensorpanel of claim 1, wherein ones of the plurality of patterns ofconductive material are connected only along one end thereof to at leastone of the plurality of conductive traces, and alternate adjacent onesof the plurality of patterns of conductive patterns of conductivematerial are connected only along the other end thereof to at least oneof the plurality of conductive traces, wherein the plurality ofconductor traces are disposed in a border area of the touch sensorpanel, the plurality of patterns of conductive material connected to atleast one of the plurality of conductor traces.
 37. A mutual capacitancetouch sensor panel capable of detecting one or more contact events atdistinct locations on the touch sensor panel at about the same time tothereby provide detection of multi-touch events, comprising: a pluralityof separate patterns of conductive material disposed along a firstdirection and formed on a single layer and supported on one side of asubstrate; and a plurality of distinct patches of the conductivematerial supported on the same side of the substrate as the plurality ofpatterns of conductive material, the plurality of distinct patchesformed on the same layer as the plurality of patterns of conductivematerial and arranged in plural groups of the distinct patches, eachgroup disposed along a second direction, each distinct patch in aparticular group connected together; one of the plurality of patterns ofconductive material or the plurality of groups forming drive lines, tothe exclusion of and sense lines, and the other of the plurality ofpatters of conductive material or the plurality of groups forming thesense lines, to the exclusion of the drive lines, the drive linesadapted for mutual capacitive coupling to the sense lines; a controlcircuit for providing stimulation signals to the drive lines and sensecircuitry to receive signals from the sense lines in response to thestimulation signals provided to the drive lines.